Caltech volleyball won its season opener for the first time since 2004, sweeping West Coast Baptist College, 3-0, on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Head Coach Tom Gardner’s squad drastically improved on its numbers in last year’s opener, specifically recording a .198 hitting percentage vs. a mere .054 in the 3-1 defeat last Sept. 6. A trio of Beavers scored in double figures, with sophomore Alex Lauinger (Ortonville, Mich. \/ Brandon) narrowly missing a double-double on 12 digs and nine kills. Freshman Krystyna Maruszko (Redondo Beach, Calif. \/ Marymount) posted a fantastic line of nine assists, eight digs and eight kills on a team-best .375 hitting percentage while sophomore Lauren Li (Bellaire, Texas \/ Bellaire) added another nine kills.<\/p>\n
Caltech stated its intent early, quickly building a 17-7 lead before rattling off seven straight points as sophomore Ellie Walker (Minneapolis, Minn. \/ Blake School) served for the second time in the set after winning the match’s first three points. Following a block by WCBC, Walker set up Maruszko for the clinching kill.<\/p>\n
The Eagles knocked the Beavers back on their heels with the first five points of the second set, but Caltech steadily clawed back in and surged ahead on another seven-point run with Lauinger serving. The foes traded points until Caltech regained serve on a Lauinger kill and sealed the 2-0 match lead at 25-14.<\/p>\n
Both teams fought vigorously trying to gain the upper hand in the third set, but it was on Lauinger’s serve once again that Caltech took control with a third seven-point run to go ahead 13-7. WCBC threatened to pull back into the mix with a three-point run that made it 13-10, but the Beavers regained composure to score eight of the next nine points. Still, the Eagles were not quite out of it yet, serving up a pair of aces while notching five consecutive points. The Beavers settled back in, however, to pull out the elusive victory with the 25-19 win.<\/p>\n
Walker led the squad with 16 assists and three aces, while rookie libero Alessandra Mondello (Kinnelon, N.J. \/ Villa Walsh Acad.) cracked double-digits in digs (10) and classmate Christine Yu (Fremont, Calif. \/ Mission San Jose) notched four kills against only one error. Sophomore Helena Shield (Mercer Island, Wash. \/ Mercer Island) made her long-awaited debut after missing her rookie year due to injury and smacked two kills with a solo block.<\/p>\n
Gardner and the Beavers next head to the University of Antelope Valley for a doubleheader on Saturday, Sept. 9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Caltech volleyball won its season opener for the first time since 2004, sweeping West Coast Baptist College, 3-0, on Tuesday night. Head Coach Tom Gardner’s squad drastically improved on its numbers in last year’s opener, specifically recording a .198 hitting percentage vs. a mere .054 in the 3-1 defeat last Sept. 6. A trio of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-girls-volleyball","category-topstories"],"yoast_head":"\n